[Part 1/4] An Intro to Scuba Equipment Buying

Welcome to what I jokingly call the Poison Buying Guide.

If you’re new to scuba diving, you’ll quickly discover that buying equipment can become an expensive rabbit hole. Dive shops understandably love enthusiastic beginners because it’s easy to convince someone that they “need” everything.

Before you know it, you’ve spent thousands of dollars, own equipment that’s far beyond your current needs and are left wondering where your money went.

This guide is written to help you spend wisely.

I’ll break it into four parts: Part 1 - Introduction

Part 2 - Die Die Must have

Part 3 - Should Haves

Part 4 - Nice to Have

To Buy or Rent?

This is usually the first question every new diver asks.

Should you buy your own gear or continue renting?

My rule of thumb is simple.

If you expect to dive four or more trips a year, buying your own equipment usually pays for itself within about two years compared with renting.

If you expect to go on four or more dive trips each year, buying your own equipment will generally pay for itself within about two years compared with renting.

However, there’s another cost many new divers overlook.

Owning your own gear means you’ll need to bring it with you on every overseas dive trip. Since scuba equipment is heavy, you may exceed your airline’s baggage allowance and incur excess baggage charges or need to purchase additional checked baggage.

These travel costs should be factored into your calculations, as they extend the time it takes for owning your gear to become more cost-effective than renting.

If you’re still unsure whether scuba diving will become a long-term hobby, renting first is perfectly reasonable.

Once you know you’re committed, start building your own equipment set gradually.

Owning your own gear offers four major benefits:

• Safety

• Comfort

• Familiarity

• Hygiene

1. Safety

One thing you’ll notice after diving around Southeast Asia is that rental equipment quality varies enormously.

Many dive shops maintain their equipment well.

Others don’t.

I’ve encountered rental regulators that breathed poorly, mouthpieces that nearly detached underwater, leaking BCDs, inaccurate SPGs, wetsuits full of holes, and cracked masks that constantly flooded.

Experienced dive guides usually know how to manage these problems.

Beginners often don’t.

Most of these issues won’t become life-threatening, but every unnecessary equipment problem creates additional stress underwater.

Personally, I’d rather eliminate those risks altogether.

When you own your equipment, you know exactly how it’s has been maintained. You know when it was last serviced, how it performs, and whether something feels different before entering the water.

Ultimately, your life depends on your equipment.

I prefer leaving that responsibility in my own hands rather than relying entirely on someone else’s maintenance standards.

Set Up Your Own Equipment

Many dive resorts offer to assemble and dismantle your equipment for you.

I call it the “butler service.”

When I first started diving, I loved it.

Who wouldn’t?

Everything was prepared for me while I simply checked my SPG and jumped into the water.

Later, I realised that convenience came at a cost.

I’ve had regulators accidentally damaged during handling, entered the water with a tank valve still closed, and even spent time searching a boat for equipment that someone else had misplaced.

Today, I always assemble my own equipment.

Yes, it takes a few extra minutes.

But I know where everything is, I confirm everything is functioning correctly, and I enter the water with complete confidence.

Think of equipment setup as part of diving—not an inconvenience to avoid.

2. Comfort

   
   

   Rental equipment is designed to fit everyone.

   
   

That usually means it fits nobody perfectly.

After several dives, poorly fitting equipment starts becoming noticeable.

Loose masks leak.

Hard regulator mouthpieces leave your jaw aching.

Ill-fitting fins create blisters.

Wetsuits rub against your skin in uncomfortable places.

These issues aren’t dangerous, but they slowly reduce your enjoyment of every dive.

When you own your equipment, you choose what fits your body.

The difference in comfort is surprisingly significant.

3. Familiarity

The more often you use the same equipment, the more instinctive everything becomes.

You know exactly where every pocket, D-ring, inflator, and strap is located.

Underwater, that’s valuable.

You won’t always have the luxury of looking directly at your equipment.

Whether you’re tightening a loose fin strap, retrieving an SMB, or clipping away your GoPro, muscle memory saves both time and frustration.

The same applies to regulators.

Once you’re familiar with how yours normally breathes, you’ll quickly notice when something doesn’t feel quite right.

4. Hygiene

This one hardly needs explaining.

Rental regulators go into hundreds of different mouths.

Rental masks are shared all season.

And wetsuits…

Let’s just say almost every diver has peed in one at some point.

Owning your own equipment removes that concern entirely.

How to Steal a Bargain - Buy Second Hand

One of the biggest mistakes new local singaporean divers make is assuming overseas shopping offers huge savings with our strong sing dollar.

In reality, most major scuba brands tightly control their retail prices worldwide.

I’ve tried hunting for bargains overseas.

The savings are negligible.

Instead, I strongly recommend buying quality second-hand equipment from Carousell app marketplace.

Good scuba gear is built to survive saltwater, sunlight, and years of regular use.

If it’s been well maintained, there’s often very little difference between a two-year-old piece of equipment and a brand-new one.

Many divers upgrade simply because they want newer equipment—not because their existing gear has worn out.

That creates excellent opportunities for buyers.

Some examples from my own purchases:

• Shearwater Perdix dive computer: S$500 (new: ~S$1,300)

• BCD: S$300 (new: ~S$800)

• Apeks regulator set: S$600 (new: ~S$1,800)

Five years later, I’m still happily using every one of them.

There’s another advantage.

Second-hand gear depreciates far less.

If you eventually decide to sell it, you’ll usually recover much more of your money than if you had purchased it brand new.

My advice?

Be patient.

Browse Carousell regularly.

Don’t rush.

Eventually, a well-priced listing will appear.

What to Check When Buying Used

Most checks are common sense.

BCD

• Inflate fully and listen for leaks.

• Test the inflator.

• Inspect dump valves and screw threads.

• Check zips, D-rings and integrated weight pockets.

Regulators

Internal condition can’t be assessed visually.

Instead, ask:

• When was it last serviced?

• Has it ever been flooded?

• Are servicing records available?

• Are the hoses still in good condition?

Always factor in the cost of servicing the regs before buying second hand. A round of servicing costs around $150 - 200. If you're lucky, the seller may have just serviced his regs.

Wetsuits

• Check wrist and ankle seals.

• Test the zip.

• Compare the seller’s body size with yours.

Dive Computers

• Simply power it on.

• Scroll through every menu and verify all buttons work correctly.

• Most modern dive computers are extremely durable.

Skill does not = Branded Gear & Do not Chase Brands Blindly

When I first started diving, I bought almost every premium brand I could afford.

Then one dive guide in Malaysia jokingly called me “Orang Kaya.”

I had expensive equipment.

My diving skills didn’t match.

It was a humbling reminder.

There’s an old saying:

All the gear. No idea.

Buying premium equipment doesn’t automatically make someone a better diver.

Time underwater does.

Practice does.

Experience does.

Likewise, don’t assume expensive brands are automatically the right choice.

Brands like Apeks, Scubapro, XDeep and Aqua Lung all produce excellent equipment—but every product is designed with a specific purpose.

Research before buying.

Read reviews.

Watch comparison videos.

Choose equipment because it suits your diving, not because of the logo.

Colour of Equipment

Everyone wants their equipment to look good.

I certainly did.

Matching colours look fantastic in underwater photographs.

Just remember that colour limits your choices.

Not every manufacturer offers every model in every colour.

If you’re diving in low visibility, bright colours such as white, yellow and orange are also much easier for your buddy to spot than black, grey or blue.

One final tip:

Red quickly loses its colour underwater and often appears dark grey.

Chronological Order of Equipments - Which should i buy first?

This gets controversial. Everyone has their own pov on which equipment first. It only ends when you have the full set. But here's my take on which equipments are essential based on my experiences and observations from diving in Asia, value per cost and dive shop availability. I will split them into 3 categories - Die Die Must Have, Should have, Nice to have.

Die Die Must Have:

• Mask

  for maximum personal enjoyment underwater, nothing beats comfort

  
  

• Fins

  for comfort and growing into it for efficient propulsion.

  
  

• Pointer Stick or Gloves

  to help stabilize yourself underwater (helps a lot for beginners, just dont poke or touch marine life, behave like an adult not an idiot)

  
  

• Booties & Socks

  for comfort and added protection when on boat or shore during surface interval

Should Have:

1. SMB (sausage balloon)

   Important once you have done your AOW.
   

2. Hood or Cap

   helps prevent skin injury when diving in overhead environments such as caves, wrecks or in between huge rocks.
   

3. BCD

   i'll talk about Backplate Wing or Jacket in another post.

Nice to Have:

1. Line Cutter helps if you mess up SMB shooting and/or trapped in fishing lines while alone.
   

2. Dive Computer rent from dive shops to save money at first, unless you're going into tech diving, they all work the same, familiarity is good but you just need to know your depth and NDL as a beginner.
   

3. GPS or Nautilus Lifeline helps if by the rare probability you get lost and stranded. lost at sea is not a laughing matter. take note that nautilus PLB only works if the boats in the country practice carrying AIS device. From my experience in diving around Asia, smaller dive boats in lesser developed countries do not use AIS.
   

4. Wetsuit rent from dive shops to save on luggage weight and maintenance trouble, they all work the same. old or new wouldn't really affect your buoyancy by a huge margin, just adjust air in BCD underwater accordingly.

5. Regulators
   

   Despite my frequent complaints about poorly maintained rental regulators at some dive shops, I still consider this piece of equipment optional.

   
   

   The reason is simple: regulators are among the most expensive pieces of scuba gear to own. They also require regular servicing and add noticeable weight to your luggage when travelling.
   

   Fortunately, every dive shop provides regulators for rent and for most recreational diving—especially shallower than 30 metres— the difference in breathing performance between a standard rental regulator and a high-end model is not that life changing.
   

   If your budget allows, buying a regulator with adjustable airflow is a nice upgrade. It lets you fine-tune how easily air is delivered, making breathing slightly more comfortable.
   

   That said, I don’t think it’s a priority for beginners. During your first few dives, you’ll already have countless things competing for your attention and chances are you’ll forget to adjust the airflow before or during the dive unless you’re particularly sensitive to breathing resistance.

Really Don't Need to have Items:

(avoid looking like a christmas tree with so many accessories)

Snorkel - Yes, i know, PADI protocol states it's a must, but honestly.. stay lean without it. you have your reg for air. you dont want any potential entanglement hazards underwater.

Reef Hook - for places with strong currents, you or your dive guide would have already prepped you before dropping into that dive site

Knife - your dive guide would probably already have one.

Torch - most dive shops have extras and they are happy to lend it without cost for safety sake. If a dive shop asks for rental money repeatedly for the torch, i usually consider them as my red flag and will not patronize them anymore. Of course, if you lose it on loan, you gotta pay for it. That's fair.

Weight Belt / Weights - every dive shop has them

Gopro/Action Camera - pointless to carry around if you want to get a shot of yourself, get your dive guide to take a photo of yourself and tip him/her. Dive shops have their own gopros. Underwater Slates and pencils - no need for these, unless you are in technical diving.

Click here for Part 2 - Must Have Equipments